Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh has been granted a 40-day parole, according to sources cited by news agency PTI. Singh is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence at Sunaria Jail in Rohtak, Haryana, after being convicted of raping two of his followers in 2017.
This is the latest temporary release granted to Singh, who has received multiple paroles and furloughs since his conviction. He was earlier granted a 40-day parole in August last year, a 30-day parole in January, and a 21-day furlough in April, along with several other temporary releases in previous years.
In 2019, Singh and three others were also convicted for the murder of a journalist, a case that dates back more than 16 years. Since 2017, Singh has been released from prison on at least 14 occasions, raising concerns among civil society groups and religious organisations.
During most of these releases, Singh reportedly stayed at the Dera Sacha Sauda ashram in Baghpat district, Uttar Pradesh. The organisation is headquartered in Sirsa, Haryana, and has a large follower base across Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, and nearby states. In Haryana, the group has notable influence in districts such as Sirsa, Fatehabad, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, and Hisar.
Singh’s repeated paroles have drawn strong criticism, particularly from Sikh organisations including the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC). Critics have questioned the consistency and fairness of granting repeated temporary releases to a person convicted of serious crimes.
